A New Structure of Hybrid DRC to Enhance the Sound Quality of a Digital AmplifierKim, Sung-Woo; You, Hee-Hoon; Choi, Seong Jhin;

Abstract

This paper suggests a new structure of hybrid DRC to enhance the psychoacoustic sound quality of a conventional multiband DRC. The proposed hybrid DRC consists of two serially cascaded stages. The front stage DRC is multiband, and it compresses input based on RMS level detection, whereas, the back stage DRC is single band, and it regulates input according to peak level detection. The proposed hybrid DRC shows better loudness while suppressing distortion by clipping. The proposed algorithm was verified through MATLAB simulation, and it was implemented using an FPGA board for listening test. The test result showed that the proposed hybrid structure enhances overall psychoacoustic sound quality compared to conventional structures, which is based on only RMS or peak level detection.